Page 9 - euroguidance-insight-newsletter-2014-autumn

Lunch in the darkness

Euroguidance study visit in Slovenia
Counsellors from the Czech Republic, Poland and Malta went on a two day study visit
to Slovenia at the end of September. The focus of the visit was guidance and
assistance to children and young people with special needs and the guests visited
several Slovenian institutions.

The first day was dedicated to presentations and discussions on work of the Career Centre of
the Employment Service of Slovenia (ESS), the Slovenian situation on the labour market,
career counselling in education and ESS tools and workshops developed at the ESS for
career planning. Career counsellors from Regional Career Centre and ESS Central and
Regional Office had interesting presentations and discussions with the guests. In the evening,
participants dined in the old part of Ljubljana where waiters with Down syndrome are among
the employed.

On the second day participants visited the school for blind
and visually impaired young people in Ljubljana. Here the
director of the school and teachers presented the school’s “Getting a job is still a
work with children with disabilities who can avail of real challenge,
adapted educational approaches, tools and working because adapted
methods specially adapted for the blind or visual impaired. workplaces are still
Some of the students have completed university degrees quite rare.”
or are well known artists or journalists. But for the majority
of them, getting a job is still a real challenge, because
adapted workplaces are still quite rare.

The group then visited a nearby sensory garden with equipment for blind and visually impaired
young people where they can test different skills like moving around different obstacles. The
counsellors covered their eyes and in that way experienced how difficult it is to do something if
you cannot see. After this interesting exercise where they got to employ all other senses to
get some orientation in a space, the group returned back to the school to meet with young
children with visual impairments

Another challenge lay ahead, the counsellors had to cover their eyes again and each one
followed a young person (with their left hand on their shoulder) down to the basement kitchen
where lunch was served in complete
darkness. A young leader with a visual
impairment told each participant where
to find the jug with water, the plate and
the cutlery. Thus, they learned new
skills! Some were quite quick at
adapting to new circumstances while a
few others found this much more
difficult. After eating, still in the dark,
Euroguidance study visit participants in Ljubljana who had the some of the participants started to sing
opportunity to experience the life of a person with visual impairments and everyone noticed the rhythm of the
and to find out how to manage the obstacles they face in everyday
life. songs even more than they would

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